Elevator dispatcher



Jan. 8, 1935. H, 'D BAUMFLEK E-r AL 1,986,788

ELEVATOR DISPATCHER Filed May l0, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet l fyi JO/ l Jan 8, 1935. H, n. BAUMFLEK n AL 1,985,788

ELEVATOR DI SPATCHER Filed May l0, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Jan- 8, 1935 H, D. BAUMFLEK Er AL 1,985,783

ELEVATOR DI S PATCHER Filed May lo, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 e fbg@ Jan. 8, 1935. H, D. BAUMFLEK Er AL t 1,985,788

ELEVATOR DISPATCHER l Filed May 10l 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Ill/@gz IFPS.

Patented Jan. 8, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ELEVATOR DISPATCHER corporation of Illinois ApplicationMay 10, 1929, Serial No. 362,080

6 Claims.

Our invention relates more particularly to devices for use in buildings, such as office buildings and the like, which are equipped with elevators, and in which it is desired to operate the elevators on a predetermined schedule to the end that all of the various iloors of the building may vhave proper service and to the further end that each elevator in the building may carry its proper proportion of the traffic, though our invention is not limited to this service but is capable of a variety of other uses as will be apparent to those skilled ln the art to which our invention appertains.

One object of our invention is the provision of a dispatcher having positive driving means for operating the various contacts and also having a plurality of speeds of fixed ratios which may be employed as desired.

Another object of our invention is the provision of a plurality of contact devices each having a dierent speed from the other and the provision of `means for shifting the operation of one or more of the elevators from one contact device to another as service conditions may require.

Another object of our invention is the provision of a selective panel whereby the placing of the elevators in the operating schedule automatically spaces them apart as desired.

Another object of our invention is the provision of a device in which the major parts are mounted in a cabinet preferably as by a suitable hinge mounting so that ready inspection for repairs or otherwise and access to all of the parts is provided.

With these objects of our invention in mind and others which will appear and be described in the specification, we have shown and will now describe one form of device embodying our invention, though we do not limit ourselves to the precise details of construction or arrangement of parts shown and to be herein described, but avail ourselves of all changes and modications which may be made within the scope of the appended claims.

The novelty of our invention will bek hereinafter more fully set forthand specically pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1, Sheet 1, is a front view of a cabinet in which our device is inclosed, the door of the cabinet being swung to open position.

Fig. 2, Sheet i, is a View corresponding to Fig. 1 but showing the interior of the cabinet and, the panel being swung to a position adjacent the open door.

Fig. `3, Sheet y2, is a sectional side elevation .of

the mechanism for driving the contact parts of the device.

Fig. 4, Sheet 2, is a sectional plan View of the device of Fig. 3, the section being taken adjacent the center of the motor shaft.

Fig. 5, Sheet 3, is a sectional edge view of the upper part of Fig. 3 looking to the right.

Fig. 6, 'Sheet 3, is an enlarged sectional view of one of the contact parts of the device.

Fig. 7, Sheet 3, is a side elevation of a part of the contact device of a diierent form from that shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. f8, Sheet 4, is a diagram of the wiring and electrical connections of the device.

The same numerals of reference are used to indicate identical .parts in all the figures.

As shown in the drawings and more particularly in Figs. 1 and 2 our device comprises several main portions, namely, the cabinet portion, the panel portion, and the contact portion, and in addition the device is provided with such auxiliaries, as switches, fuses, binding posts and other necessary Aparts to be presently described.

The cabinet portion comprises preferably a metal cabinet such as those used for cutout or service cabinets in electric wiring systems, the cabinet being indicated at 9 and being provided with a hinged door 10, the latter being preferably provided with a glass 11 while the upper portion of the door is provided with a shield 12 inwhich a plurality of bulls-eyes 13 are mounted, there being one of these bulls-eyes for each elevator or'other device used in connection with the dispatcher.

Mounted in the cabinet 9 and immediately behind the door l0 4when the latter is closed, is the panel section which comprises the main panel 14, auxiliary panel 15 and lamp carrying portion 16, together with the other parts to be now described.

The lamp carrying portion 16 comprises in part aseries of lamp sockets 17 (Fig. 2) each of which carries a lamp or bulb 18 (Fig. 1), there being one of these lamps for each elevator to be signalled, and each of these lamps is mounted behind one of the bulls-eyes 13 when the door 10 is in closed position. To prevent shadowy or phantom signals, partitions 19 are placed between the lamps to prevent lateral diffusion of the light, and these partitions are preferably arranged as a unit which may be bodily removed to permit easy access to any of the lamps for replacement should voccasion require, these partitions being preferably connected together by a strip 20 which passes across the top of the partitions and to which each is attached.

Mounted immediately below the lamp carrying portion 16 is a series of reels 21 (Fig. 2) one of these reels being provided for each elevator, the reels being mounted in substantially vertical alignment with the lamp sockets and the lamps. Each reel is provided with a cord 22 (Fig. 1) and each cord is provided with a plug 23 at one of its ends, the other end being connected both mechanically and electrically to the reel. Each reel is provided with a suitable spring, preferably such as an ordinary alarm clock spring, this spring serving to operate the reel to taire up the slack in the cord when its plug is moved from one position to another on the main panel.

rThe auxiliary panel l which has previously been referred to is mounted on the main panel below the reels 21 and the electrical cormections which accomplish the distribution of the signals to the various elevators and upon the various schedules, all as described later, are carried by this auxiliary panel l5.

The main switch 24 is mounted in the lower part of the main panel and its operating button 25 (Fig. l) projects through the panel so that it .may be easily reached for operation.

The main panel is hingedly mounted as by brackets 26 on a hinge member 27 (Figs. 2, 3 and 4), this hinge member also serving as a mounting for the mechanism to be now described.

A pair of arms, the upper 28 and the lower 29 extend from the member 27 to a housing 39, the lower arm 29 carrying an electric motor 3l for driving the mechanism to be now described.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 3 and 4, the end of the shaft of the motor 31 carries a worm 32 which meshes with and drives a worm wheel 33 carried on the upper end of a vertically arranged shaft 34, the latter carrying a pair of spur pinions 35 and 36, the pinion 35 meshing with a gear 37 and the pinion 36 meshing with the gear 38, these gears 37 and 38 being loosely mounted on a vertical shaft 39 and a dental clutch 49 being provided between these two gears 37 and 38 and adapted to engage either thereof, the movement of the clutch being accomplished by a shifter 4l mounted on a shaft 42 which projects outwardly through the housing and carries a shifting lever 43 cooperating with a quadrant 44 (Figs.` 2.and 4) The pinions and 36 are of slightly different pitchdiameters and the gears 37 and 38 correspondingly differ to the end that when the clutch is engaged with the gear 38, the shaft 39 is operated at a different speed from its speed of operation when the clutch 40 is engaged with the gear 37. The purpose of this arrangement will be described later.

The upper end of the shaft 39 carries a worm 45 which meshes with a worm wheel 46 carried by the horizontal shaft 47 which shaft pro-jects through the housing 30 at the rear thereof, when viewed from the position of Figs. 2 and 3, and cooperates with the target mechanism which will be presently described in detail. The shaft 47 carries a gear 48 which drives a slightly different sized gear 49 mounted on a shaft 50 similar to the shaft 47 but projecting through the forward side of the housing 30 and cooperates with the target on that side of the housing as will be presently described.

In order to facilitate vthe construction and assembly of the mechanism contained in the housing 30, this housing is made in two parts, vthe forward part (when viewed from the position of Fig. 2) carrying all of the mountings for the bearings, the arms 28 and 29, and in order to support the shafts 47 and 50 an outboard bearing 51 is provided and, as shown more clearly in Fig. 5 a portion of this outboard bearing projects through the rear wall of the housing 3() and carries the target and its associated parts.

The contactor elements, which for brevity we will call targets, will be now described and particular attention is called to Figs. 5, 6 and 7.

Each target consists of a ring of insulating material 52 which carries near its outer diameter a series of contacts 53 and as the arrangement of this series of contacts is important it will be now described.

As will be seen from Fig. 2, these contacts are spaced apart different distances and as the target shown in Fig. 2 is arranged for the handling of six elevators, the system of arranging these contacts will now be explained.

Starting with the contact to the extreme left of Fig. 2, theorie horizontally aligned with the center of the target, and counting this contact as number one, it becomes number one for all of the divisions and it will be observed that there is a contact diametrically opposite it, and one immediately above and another immediately below the center of the target which with the two just mentioned provide four contacts equally spaced and at ninety degrees from each other. These four contacts provide proper divisionsfor one, two or four elevators. One hundred and twenty degrees each way from the first mentioned contact, two additional contacts are provided which with the first provide for three elevators equally spaced. Starting with the first contact and at each seventy-one degrees around the circle therefrom four more contacts are provided which with the rst provide for five elevators. By providing a contact half way between each pair of contacts for the three elevators, or in other words on a sixty degree spacing, and including the contacts for the three elevators, six equal spaced contacts are provided for handling six elevators so that by the use of a total of twelve contacts, divisions are provided vhereby any number of elevators from one to six inclusive may be operated upon the schedules established by `this target.

The same arrangement prevails on the target to the rear of the one just described in Fig. 2.`

The contacts 53 of the forward target are connected to the upper triangularly arranged group of openings in both the main panel 14 and the auxiliary panel l5, shown in Figs. 1 and 2, these connections being contained in the cable 54. A similar condition prevails in respect to the target at the rear of the housing 30 with the exception that the contacts of this target are connected through the cable 55 with the lower group of openings shown in the panels.

By referring to Fig. 1 it is noted that the u?, per triangular group of openings in thepanel is marked Local and that it consists of six rows of openings numbered from one to six, each row containing as many openings as its number, or in other words row one has one opening, row two two openings, etc.; and it is also to be noted that the lower triangular group of openings is marked Express and further that this group consists of six rows of openings consecutively niunbered but reversely arranged from the rst.

The Local group is preferably connected to the target facing the observer in Fig. 2, while the Express is connected to the other target.

Referring again to Figs. 5, 6 and 7 each ring 52 fil is Amounted fon afcarrier 56 which preferably lhas an annular rim, a-hub and spokes and is mounted concentric `with one of the shafts 47 or 50 though the mounting is such that ythe iing 52 does not 'rotate when Tits lshaft rotates. Each ring 52 carries a distributing ring 57 which is insulated from the carrier v56 but is in electrical connection with the main circuit as will .be later described.

Each of the shafts 47 and 50 carries an ad- :lustable double contact `arm composed ofthe main portion 58, and the adjustable .portion '59, the latter lbeing slotted and held in any adjusted angular relation to the former by means "of the screws `60 shown more clearly in Fig, 7. .r1/brush holder 61 is mounted uponieach or the members 58 or 59, and each brush holder carries one or more brushes l62 lwhich vare adapted to establish electrical connections with the contacts S. Each brushis pressed against .the face of the ring 52 and the contacts 53 by a spring 63. Each brush holder `61 is insulated in its'mounting on the member 58 or '59 as the case may be, this insulation being shown in section in Fig. 6 and consisting 'of a piece'of sheet insulation 64 mounted on each side of the members 58 and 59, and an insulating bushing 65 through which each of the mounting screws 66 passes, and in the construct-ion Ashown in the drawings, a contact 67 is mounted vby means of these screws 66 andcomprises in part a spring finger which bears against the distributing ring 57 so that this distributing ring is electrical connection with each of the brushes '62, the current passing through the screws '66 to the brush holder 61 and to the brushes.

The purpose of providing the angular adjustment between the members 58 and 59 which carry the Vbrush yholders is to change the time between upgoing and downgoing signals so that, if desired, elevators may be operated express in one direction and Vlocal in the other, ror in other words, the elevators may be required to 4operate from the bottom to the top of the building without astop and to make-stops coming vdown such as would be required at the noon and evening hours to bring passengers 'to the bottom to empty the building or the reversed condition mig-ht prevail such as in the morning and immediately after the noon hour when the large part of the traino would be by passengers entering the 'building when the express service would be reversed and this condition can be met by changing the angular relation of the brushes as has just been described.

`By .referring to Fig. 7, in addition to the angular adjustment between these arms, one or both of the arms may be provided with a multiple brush holder 68 and means for movi-ng the brushes thereon into or out of contact position such as `by the provision of cams 69 'each yprovided with a handle 70. With this construction any individual brush may beraised out of contact with the face of the ring y52 and the contacts 53 by moving the handle 70 from the'position shown at the top of Fig. 7 to that shown to the left.

We will now proceed to describe the electrical connections and will refer particularly -to Fig. 8.

The rauxiliary panel is shown and it is to be noted that the groups of triangularly arranged openings are in the same location as in Fig. 1. Starting with the Local group it is noted that the rowof contact sockets at the left of this group are al1-connected together and connected to the first 'conta'ct53 referred to vlin 'the `description of the contacts around thevrin'g v52, namely, the one in `horizontal 'alignment and to the lei't of the center of this ring and using the numbers as they appear inlFig. 1 on the local board asdesighating rows, it will be #noted that 'number two of the six row is connected to the second contact around the ring moving clockwise; that number two of the 'iive row `is connected to the third contact; 'that number two of the four row is connected to the fourth contact; that number two of the three rowis connected to thenumber three of the six row and the latter to the fifth contact; that number three of the five row is rconnected to the `sixth contact and that number two of the two row, number three of the four row, and number four yof the six row are connected to the `seventh contact; that number v'four of the five row is connected to 'the eighth'c'ontact; that number three of the three row and number five of the sixrow are connected to the .ninth contact; that number .four ofthe four `row is connected to the tenth contact; that number ve of the five row is connected to theeleventh contact; and that number six of the six row is connected to 'the twelfth contact.

The above description for the local board also describes the express 'board with the exception that the position of the contact openings "on the express board is reversed from that on the local board.

The distributing-ring 57 on each of the targets is connected in common to the source of current supply through means of lead 71 extending between the two rings and lead .'72 extending Ato one side of the double pole switch 24.

The'current supply in the device illustrated is the yordinary three wire two hundred and twenty volt current in which from the ycenter wire to either side provides one hundred Aand ten volts, the two outside wires providing two hundred and twenty volts and referring for amoment to Fig. 2 the incoming current supply cable is shown at 73 and the upper `part of the cabinet is provided with a triple fuse block and fuses 74 from which the three Wires 75, 76 and 77 lead to the various parts.

Referring now again to Fig. 8 the wire 75 leads to one side of the switch 24, the wire 76 leads to one side of the motor 31, the wire 77 leads to the other side of the switch 24 and a branch is taken from the wire '72 previously referred to to the motor 31. The lights 18 are shown and the reels 21 are represented by a loop in the cords 22 which carry vthe plugs'23.

At the upper part'of Fig. 8 additional lamps 78 are shown andone of these lights is in the cab of each elevator, one side of each of these lights 78 being connected in series with one of the lights 18, while the other side of the lights 78 is connected to the common return 79 which extends to the side of the switch 24 to which the Wire 77 is connected. The switch 24 is shown in open position and in such position it will be noted that both the one hundred and ten and two hundred and twenty volt circuits are open or in other words the device is in inoperative position.

By closing the switch 24 connection is esta-blished-between the wires 75 and 77, on one side of the switch, and between the wires 77 and 79 on the other side in which 'condition there is flow of current through the motor causing it to operate and the distributing rings 57 are supplied with current so that as the `mechanism in, the housing 30 operates Yto 'drive the brush -holders and as the brushes which the ,latter carry come in contact with the various contacts 53 around the targets, the contact openings in the auxiliary panel are supplied withY current.

This brings us to the distribution ofthe signals. Assume for illustration that the six plugs 23 are placed in the six row of the ,local board which would be the proper location if all six elevators were to be operated on the local board. Under this condition as soon as any brush came in contact with one of the contacts 53 which are connected through the cable 54 with one of the contact openings of the six row of the local board, the corresponding light 18 in the cabinet and its light 78 in one elevator cab would be illuminated and if this contact is made by the brush holder which carries two brushes, two flashes of the lights would result whereas if the contact is made by a brush holder carrying only one brush, a single ash would result.

Referring now to Fig. 1, it will be observed that of the six elevators which the device is equipped to signal, elevators one, two and six are notin service and elevators three, four and five are in service on the local board and the plugs 23 are placed in the three row contact openings on the local board. Under this condition elevator three would receive its signal from the first contact 53 which was referred to as being the one to the left of the center of the target, while elevatorV number four would receive its signal from the contact one hundredfand twenty degrees around the target from the rst, and elevator number five would receive its signal from the contact one hundred twenty degrees advanced from the last mentioned contact.

It will be seen from the above thatiall that is necessary to do is to select the number of elevators which it is desired to place in service, and to place the plugs 23 which operate the signals in those elevators in the proper row on either the local or express board or a combination of both, whereupon the signals are given to these elevators in their proper sequence and with the proper intervals.

We will now describe the function of the shifting lever 43. As had previously been stated in the description of Figs. 3 and 4, the shaft 39 may be operated at different speeds. At different periods of the day, different traffic conditions exist in respect to elevator service. t so-meperiods of the day the total travel is relatively light, such as in the middle of the morning and the middle of the afternoon, andat these periods the round trip time of the elevators can be reduced with the result that one or more elevators may be dropped from the service and those remaining will be enabled to render eflicient service throughout the building. Under this condition the shifting lever 43 is moved to the fast speed position so that the time of each rotation of the shafts 47V and 50 is decreased. n i

At'other times of the day the elevator traffic is heavier, the elevators have to make more stops, and the stops average a longer time each. Under these conditions the shifting lever 43 is moved to the slow speed position thus increasing the time for a complete rotation of the shafts 47 and 50 and giving each elevator a slightly longer time in which to make its round trip,4 and in connection with this condition it is to be noted that when a shift is made from one speed to the other by means of the lever 43, and afterwards a return to the former speedis made, the former speed is again exactly duplicated or in other words the devicemay be operated at either speed with the assurance that that speed is the same at all times. This cannot be done practically if friction driving mechanism is employed.

As has previously been described the housing 30 is hingedly mounted and this mounting permits it and its mechanism, including the targets, brush holders and all other parts to be swung outwardly from the cabinet after the door 10 and panel 14 have been swung on their hinges, this movement permitting easy and complete access to all of the mechanical parts of the device either for inspection or repair and it is further to be noted that the mounting and connections for the device are such that its operation may continue during such time as it may be swung outward for inspection.

Referring now more particularly to Fig. 2, seven binding posts 80 are provided and located in the upper rear left portion of the cabinet 9, the first six of these beginning with the one to the left are provided for the connection of the six wires leading to the six elevator cabs, while the seventh is for the common return wire 79 of Fig. 8. These binding posts 86 are shown connected to the cable 81 which consists ofthe six wires which form a part of the connection between the lamps 18 and '78 of Fig. 8 While the cable 82 at the lower portion of Fig. 2 contains a portion of the wires 72, 75 and 77 and 79 all of which lead to the switch 24.

In order better to inform the operator of the elevator, when a signal is given, whether or not the signal indicates an up trip or a down trip, we provide the device preferably with two brushes 62 carried by one of the brush holders 61, while the other brush holder carries but a single brush. In this way two different signals are given through the same mechanism and this difference in the signals particularly becomes important when the members 58 and 59 are angularly arranged, or in other words when the device is set for express service, the elevator operating express in one direction only. Under these conditions if the signals given were the same for both an up and a down trip and through any disarrangement of the position of the elevator under its schedule, the operator would be at a loss to know, upon receiving a signal, whether it was the up or the down signal but by providing the difference in the sig' nals, no such condition can arise, though in this connection it is to be noted that, should it be desired, one of the brushes in the brush holder which carries the two brushes can easily be removed so that one flash will be given for either up or down trip, or a double brush holder may be placed upon each of the members 58 and 59 and a double signal given for each direction of movement.

As has previously been pointed out the shafts 47 and 50 operate at different speeds and in some buildings it is desirable to operate some of the elevators as express elevators which may move from the main iloor to a point some fioors above without a stop and operate from there to the top of the building by making the required stops for the traic while the balance of the elevators may operate as local elevators stopping at any floor in the building when required. Under these conditions those elevators which are in express service make a round trip in less time than those which are in the local service and to meet this condition we have provided the two targets above described and the arrangement of the panel as shown in Fig. 1 so that any of the elevators may be placed in any position on either the Local or ",'xpress"" boards and the elevators may operate simultaneously in ytheir twopredetermined groups, though thelup and down trips of thefexpress elevators will not coincide with the up and down trips of Vthe locali elevators. i

rIt will be seen from the :above that we have provided two vdifferent kinds of express service, namely, an expressservice where the elevators make a trip in one direction without stops and operate as local, making all required stops in the opposite chrection, and an express service in which the elevators operate from the main oor to an intermediate point in the building without'stops and from that point to the top making stops in both directions.

It will also beseen that we have provided a device in which any one of these services may be obtained at four different speeds, two ofthe Speeds being :accomplished by the difference in the speed of the shafts 47 and 50, while the other two are provided .by the mechanism controlled by the shifting lever 43.

It will of course be apparent that the cabinet 9 may be mounted in .any convenient location such as in the lobby ofthe building adjacent the elevators and where it can be easily reached for rearrangement of the plugs 23 at such times as it is desired to change the elevators from one schedule to another or to change the speed of the operation by means of the shifting lever 43.

It is to be noted that the construction of the housing 30 .is -such that itcompletely incloses all of the gearing and affords ample protection from foreign substances while at the same time permits the maintenance of proper conditions of lubrication.

It will be noted by reference to Fig. 2 that the auxiliary panel 15, is provided with a contact ring at each opening, these rings being preferably somewhat in the form of the ordinary grcmmet, each grommet being placed through the auxiliary panel and the wires forming the cables 54 and 55 are soldered or otherwise suitably attached to these grommets, and the plugs 23, when inserted through the openings in the main panel 14, pass through and make contact with the grommets carried by the auxiliary panel 15.

The device illustrated in the drawings and herein described is capable of handling any number of elevators up to six and it is to be noted that this device will also handle any multiple of elevators by providing an additional light 78 in each elevator of the multiple number. For instance if twelve elevators are to be operated, they would operate in pairs in each direction, receiving their signals simultaneously.

It is, of course, obvious that by rearranging the openings in the main panel and the contact openings in the auxiliary panel, and providing proper contacts on the targets and the proper number of reels 21 and lights 18, as well as cords 22 and plugs 23, any desired number of elevators may be operated following the same system.

Having thus fully described our invention, we claim:

1. An elevator dispatching system having in combination a driven rotating contactor element carrying electric current, a series of stationary contacts consecutively contacted by said rotating element, a plurality of signal lamps disposed in elevator cars, each lamp having connection with manual switching means, a plurality of switch elements adapted to cooperate with said switching means to establish electrical connection between said lamps and switch elements, the latter having connection with said stationary contacts and being arranged in groups, each group including a different number of elements, those of each group having individual connection with such of said stationary contacts as are equally spaced relative to each other, whereby a selected number of lamps may be alternately operated in a predetermined equally spaced manner by connection of the manual switching means thereof with the elements of the group having a corresponding number of stationary contacts equal to the number of lamps selected.

2. In an elevator -dispatching system, means whereby a selected number of elevators mayibe signalled in a predetermined spaced manner including a series o stationary contacts, successively contacted by a continuously moving contactor member carrying electric current, each of said stationary contacts having connection with `individual switch members, a plurality of signal lamps disposed in elevator cars, means for optionally connecting any of the lamps with any of said switch members, the latter arranged in groups, each group including a different number of switch members, the individual members of each group having connection with equally spaced stationary contacts whereby the aforementioned selected number of elevators may be signalled in predetermined equally spaced manner by'connectingthe lampsr of the selected cars in the group having a corresponding number of switch members equal to the number of lamps selected.

3. In an elevator dispatcher, the combination of a plurality o signal lamps disposed in elevator cars, one terminal of each being connected to a common source of current means for lighting the lamps in predetermined manner, including a switching mechanism comprising a driven brush member and a series of contacts disposed adjacent thereto in such a manner as to be successively contacted thereby, the brush member being connected to the 'source of current opposite that of said lamps, said contacts being arranged in a plurality of groups, each group having a diierent number of contacts, the con* tacts of each group being equally spaced relative to each other and manual switching means adapted to connect each of a selected number of lamps with a separate contact included in the group having the number of contacts corresponding to the number of lamps selected, whereby, by reason of the aforementioned successive contacting between said brush and contacts, each lamp of the selected number may be lighted at regular spaced intervals relative to itself and to the others.

4. In an elevator dispatcher, the combination of a plurality of signal lamps disposed in elevator cars, one terminal of each being connected to a common source of current, means for lighting the lamps in predetermined manner including a switching mechanism comprising a driven brush member and a series of contacts disposed adjacent thereto in such a manner as to be successively contacted thereby, the brush member being connected to the source of current opposite that of said lamps, said contacts being arranged in a plurality of groups, each group having a different number of contacts, the contacts of each group being equally spaced relative to each other and having individual connection with switch elements the same being arranged in groups corresponding to the aforementioned groups'of contacts, manual switching means connected with said lamps co-operating with said switch elements to connect individual lamps with individual contacts in such a manner that when the switching means of a selected number of lamps is connected with the switch elements included in a group having a number of elements equal to the number of lamps, each lamp will be successively lighted at regular spaced intervals relative to itself and to the others.

y 5. In an elevator dispatcher, the combination of a plurality of signal lamps disposed in elevator cars, one terminal of each being connected to a common source of current, means for lighting the lamps in predetermined manner including a switching mechanism comprising a driven rotating brush member and a plurality of stationary contacts arranged upon a substantially circular line in such a manner as to be successively contacted by the rotating brush member, the circle of contacts comprising a plurality of groups of contacts, the contacts of all groups lying upon a common line, the contacts of each group marking a corresponding number of points upon the circle cquidistant relative to the others of the same group, thus forming a plurality of groups, superimposed upon each other, said contacts having individual connection with switch elements, the same being arranged in groups corresponding tothe aforementioned groups of contacts, manual switching means connected with said lamps co-ope'rati've with said 'switch elements to connect individual lamps with individual contacts in such a manner that when the switching means of a selected number of lamps are connected with the switch elements included in a group having a number of elements equal to the number of lamps, each lamp will be successively lighted at regular spaced intervals relative to itself and to all others oi the group.

6. In an elevator dispatcher, the combination of an electrical circuit including a plurality of v stationary contacts, a rotating arm carrying a single brush at one end and plural brushes at the other, said brushes being so disposed that rotation of the arm brings about contact between said brushes and contacts, each contact being alternately contacted by the single brush and the plural brushes, a plurality of lamps in circuit with said brushes and contacts and disposed in elevator cars, each lamp being in circuit with a plug, a plurality of jacks in circuit with said stationary contacts, any one of said plugs adapted to be inserted in any one of said jacks to place the latter in circuit with said lamps, said jacks arranged in a series of groups, each group having a diierent number of jacks, the jacks of eachsgroup being connected with such of the stationary contacts as are positioned to be contacted by said brushes at equal vintervals corresponding to the number of jacks in any group. -IERBERT D. BAUMFLEK.

WILLIAM J. PECK. 

